KNS Institute of Technology students display the drones designed by them at Eduverse, the ninth edition of Jnana Degula education expo organised by Deccan Herald and Prajavani, at Jayamahal Palace Hotel grounds on Sunday. DH photo
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at Rs 1,500? Students of KNS Institute of Technology have done it, without much fanfare. They plan to enhance the design to customise the drones for surveillance and transporting goods.
The makers of the plane – Inayatullah, Debabrata Mondal, Premkumar Singh and SyedJunaid – represented their college along with vice principal Nayeem Ahmad at Jnana Degula-Eduverse event organised by DH and Prajavani.
Inayatullah said the plane was made of simple polymer materials (expanded polyolefin and polystyrene) and can carry 350 gm payload. “It can fly for an hour at a speed of 45 km per hour. We have used a propeller made of composite material with aluminium coating so that it can fly at a height of 500 feet and withstand force of up to 85 newtons,” he said.
The team is also working on a plane specifically designed for surveillance.“While the 45 kmph plane can be improvised to make it a delivery drone, we are working on a plane that flies slower, at 36 kmph, providing opportunities for deeper surveillance of a particular area,” Mondal said.
Inayatullah said the cost of the UAVs will come down further if produced on a large scale. “The UAVs produced by government agencies cost a lot. Our planes are disposable. The army can use the surveillance drone and does not have to worry if one of them is lost or destroyed,” he said.
The planes can be controlled by a 2.4GHz radio frequency device, which has a range of 2.5 km. “The remote controller cost us Rs 3,500. Considering that it is the plane and not the device that is susceptible to damage, we think ours is the most affordable UAV,” he said.
“The turbo is imported from China for Rs 90 and sold in India for Rs 250. The same turbo can be made in India at a cost of Rs 40. Nearly 95% of the materials were imported from China. After a detailed study, we found the cost will come down to Rs 600, if we make these materials in India,” Inayatullah said.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City / DH News Service / Bengaluru – May 29th, 2017
Meerut, UTTAR PRADESH / Baroda, GUJARAT / NEW DELHI :
Perfection pursuitUstad Hashmat Ali Khan
Tabla exponent Ustad Hashmat Ali Khan, passed away recently
The sudden demise of Ustad Hashmat Ali Khan, a renowned tabla exponent and a revered Guru of Ajrada Baaj, came as a shock to the music fraternity.Ajrada Baaj is one of the six main schools of tabla playing. Ajrada Gharana is known for or what is the specific ‘Nikas’ of the Bols in this style. The Aalap like Peshkar, the varied Quayedas of his Gharana, the Rela, Fard, Gat, Paran, where all three of them joined the demonstration together.
Many a times, Hashmat Ali Khan, would share his childhood memories of the Baroda Darbar, where his grandfather Ustad Shafi Khan was a ‘Mulazim’ as a musician like Aftab-e-Mausiqi Ustad Faiyaz Khan, the legendary vocalist of the Agra Gharana, Ustad Nisar Hussain Khan and Kanthe Maharaj. The ICCR had sent him to Gayana to teach the art of tabla and propagate Hindustani music there. He had joined the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, as a faculty member, way back in 1972. He remembered how Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan encouraged him to join this institution when Naina Devi interviewed him. As a thanks giving gesture, he used to go to his place after dinner, to make young Amjad (Ustad Amjad Ali Khan) practice sarod with his tabla Sangat.
Ustad Hashmat Ali Khan established the Tabla Academy of Ajrada Gharana in 2008 and trained a number of students including his own grandsons Zuheb, Zaheen and Zargham.
Remembering father
Ustad Akram Khan remembers him fondly. “We all had dinner and watched cricket together discussing the game. He was fond of cricket. He was so affectionate as a father but equally strict as a teacher. A strict disciplinarian, he would make us do regular riyaz at least for 4-5 hours a day. He took it upon himself to spread the Ajrada Baaj at home and abroad. He conceived the Peshkar and kayda, as a raga. As one does Badhat in raga sequentially (silsilewar) Rishabh, Gandhar, similarly in peshkar or kayda. Like in a raga, you cannot use swaras other than those prescribed for the raga.
“Unhone is Khazane ko baantne mein koi kanjoosi nahin barti”. He was not a miser in spreading the treasures of his Gharana. I only hope that the next generation takes benefit of all that he has bequeathed so generously!”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review / by Manjari Sinha / May 26th, 2017
Kalam had his early training at NASA in 1963 before he set up India’s first rocket-launching facility in the fishing village of Thumba in Kerala. DH Photo
In great news for India, scientists at NASA have named a new organism discovered by them after the much-loved A P J Abdul Kalam.
Till date, the new organism — a form of a bacteria — has been found only on the International Space Station (ISS) and has not been found on earth!
Researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the foremost lab of NASA for work on inter-planetary travel, discovered the new bacteria on the filters of the International Space Station (ISS) and named it Solibacillus kalamii to honour the late president, who was a renowned aerospace scientist.
Kalam had his early training at NASA in 1963 before he set up India’s first rocket-launching facility in the fishing village of Thumba in Kerala.
“The name of the bacterium is Solibacillus kalamii, the species name is after Dr Abdul Kalam and genus name is Solibacillus which is a spore forming bacteria,” said Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran, senior research scientist, Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group at JPL.
The filter on which the new bug was found remained on board the ISS for 40 months. Called a high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter or HEPA filter, this part is the routine housekeeping and cleaning system on board the international space station.
This filter was later analysed at JPL and only this year did Venkateswaran publish his discovery in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.
According to Venkateswaran, even as it orbits the earth some 400 kilometres above, the ISS is home to many types of bacteria and fungi which co-inhabit the station with the astronauts who live and work on the station.
Venkateswaran said even though Solibacillus kalamii has never been found on earth till date, it is really not an extra-terrestrial life form or ET.
“I am reasonably sure it has hitch hiked to the space station on board some cargo and then survived the hostile conditions of space,” explained Venkateswaran.
Naming the new microbe after Kalam was natural to Venkateswaran and his team.
“Being a fellow Tamilian, I am aware of the huge contributions by Dr. Kalam,” he said.
New bacteria are usually named after famous scientists.
Venkateswaran is part of a team which is asking that eternal question “are we alone in the universe?”
Towards that, his responsibilities include monitoring the bug levels on the ISS and he also has to ensure that all spacecraft that fly to other planets are free of terrestrial bugs.
One of his big jobs was to ensure that NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover — the massive car-sized almost 1000 kg buggy — was totally sterile when it left earth.
By international law, this extreme hygiene is required else other planets could get contaminated by bugs that reach the Martian or other planets hidden on human satellites.
Today the ISS is the size of a football field and its construction started with a launch in 1998 and as of now it is the largest human-made object orbiting the earth.
Weighing about 419 tonnes, it can house a maximum of six astronauts and has costs roughly USD 150 billion.
Till date, 227 astronauts have flown to the space station. This makes the space station actually a very dirty place and maintaining hygiene is critical so that humans can live on it with ease.
On the space station all the air and water is recycled, being a completely closed environment there is a rapid build- up of moulds and bacteria on the station.
These not only have to be cleaned but monitored to ensure that they do not corrode the walls of the space station and do not turn hazardous to the astronauts.
Venkateswaran’s main job is to monitor the environment of the space station so that harmful bugs do not proliferate.
He heads the ‘Microbial Observatory’ on the ISS projects to measure microorganisms associated with compartments owned by the US.
According to NASA, he also directs several research and development tasks for the JPL – Mars Program Office, which enables the cleaning, sterilisation, and validation of spacecraft components.
He directs several NASA competitive awards on the microbial monitoring of spacecraft and associated environments for the Exploration System Mission Directorate, closed habitats like ISS or its earth analogues for the Human Exploration and Operation Mission Directorate.
But is the new bug of some use.
“These spore formers tend to withstand high radiation and also produce some useful compounds protein wise which will be helpful for biotechnology applications,” Venkateswaran said.
His team has not characterised the bacteria fully but he hints that the new bug could be a key source for chemicals that can help protect against radiation damage.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home / Press Trust of India, Los Angeles / May 21st, 2017
On June 21 this year, history will be made with the launch of the world’s smallest ever satellite — KalamSat. The launch will also hold special significance for India, with 18-year-old Rifath Sharook, a native of Tamil Nadu, being the brains behind the satellite. This will be the first time an Indian student’s experiment will be operated by NASA.
18-year-old Rifath Sharook; Source- New York Post
Hailing from the Tamil Nadu town of Pallapatti, Sharook has truly achieved something special with the KalamSat. The satellite will be launched by the US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and weighs only 64 grams. Named after India’s former President and nuclear scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the satellite is slated to be launched from a NASA facility in Wallops Island.
Sharook’s project made it through the competition ‘Cubes in Space’, which was a collaboration between NASA and ‘I Doodle Learning’. The project is the first to be manufactured through 3D printing, and aims to redefine the performance of new technology in space, reports the Business Standard .
The mission span will be for 240 minutes, with KalamSat operating for 12 minutes in a micro-gravity environment, transported by a sub-orbital flight. Sharook, in a conversation with TOI, said,
The main role of the satellite will be to demonstrate the performance of 3D-printed carbon fibre. We designed it completely from scratch. It will have a new kind of on-board computer and eight indigenous built-in sensors to measure acceleration, rotation, and the magnetosphere of the earth. The main challenge was to design an experiment to be flown to space that would fit into a four-metre cube weighing 64 grammes.
Sharook’s project was sponsored by ‘Space Kidz India’, and points to his keen interest in space. He has also subscribed to the NASA kid’s club. Further speaking about the scope of the project, he said,
We did a lot of research on different cube satellites all over the world, and found that ours was the lightest. We obtained some of the components from abroad, and some are indigenous. The satellite is made mainly of reinforced carbon fibre polymer.
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source: http://www.yourstory.com / YourStory.com / Home> Academia / Think Change India / May 19th, 2017
Roshanara Khan from Nizamuddin Basti is all set to tell her story of struggle in the US before a distinguished audience for the benefit of other girls like her
What strikes about 19-year-old Roshanara Khan is her confidence and clarity of vision. The struggles of her life has suffused her with a fighting spirit but not desperation. The self-belief becomes evident when she says, “I will do it. I can handle it. It is my story. I have to narrate that and how difficult can it be,” says Roshanara. As we write this, the young spark, is en route to the US for an annual fundraising event by NGO, Room to Read, in the US. Representing India, Roshanara will give a speech at the Gala Dinner in New York and Washington DC on May 11 and 15. Navtej Sarna, India’s ambassador to the United States will be the special guest at the event. The money generated will be utilised for life skills training and mentoring of girls.
But this isn’t a first for Roshanara. She has travelled to the UK, Zurich and Switzerland earlier to share her compelling story. A story that must be shared. Living in the slums of Nizamuddin Basti, her father, a rickshaw puller at times, couldn’t even give her and four siblings three meals a day. “On top of that, he used to gamble. And then one day, my parents fixed my marriage. I was only 15. I refused. I told my mother, I don’t want to be helpless like her, dependent on someone else for every penny, struggling to raise kids, falling sick every now and then because of early marriage and motherhood. They understood my point but due to the societal pressure, they went ahead and fixed it. I kept refusing but they wouldn’t get convinced but finally, they gave in,” recalls Roshanara.
Gathering courage
But how did she gather courage in such dire circumstances? Without any support, how did she avert marriage and follow a different path? Through her school, Roshanara was able to connect with Room to Read, an NGO working towards literacy and girls education. “I have been associated with their Girls’ Education Program for a long time and my mentor there guided me through this. I discussed my problems with her and she told me how to handle it. She gave me lot of strength.” She says, the life skills she acquired at the sessions held by teachers at Room to Read, helped her immensely. “I learnt how important it is to say what you feel. You have to express yourself,” said Roshanara at the press conference held at Indian Women’s Press Corps.
At the press conference, a five minute film on the young girl made by Room to Read was also screened. It will be shown in the US as well.
Though not fluent in English, she will deliver her speech in English. The young girl shows no sign of anxiety. “We have only helped her but every word is hers. She has decided how her story needs to be told. Even the decision to use the word change or or transform was taken by her,” said Randeep Kaur, Programme Director, GEP, Room To Read.
The NGO tracks the girls’ education programme graduates for three years and seeing the commitment and strength of Roshanara, the outfit chose zoned in on her for the job.
Working at a doctor’s clinic and alongside pursuing a bachelor’s degree from Jamia Millia Islamia, Roshanara is attracted to the world of computers. “I love computers and want to make a career out of it.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by Shailaja Tripathi / May 11th, 2017
May 11, 1857. Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was fishing in the Yamuna in the morning when he was told about some disturbance breaking out in the city. He rushed back into the fort.
Sowars of the 3rd Bengal Native Cavalry, after mutinying at Meerut the previous day, had reached Delhi after riding overnight. The Revolt of 1857 was at Delhi’s doorstep. And the octogenarian head of the house of Timur, given to poetry and not soldiering, was thrust into the command of an epic struggle that was not just political but also cultural: one that would change Delhi and India forever.
On May 5, TOI approached India’s foremost military historian, Squadron Leader Rana T S Chhina (Retd) of USI-CAFHR, to walk us through the landmarks of the Revolt in Delhi: the ruins, the battlefields, the memorials. The trigger for it was obvious: it’s the 160th anniversary of the Revolt, which people variously refer to as the Indian Mutiny, Sepoy Mutiny, and First War of Indian Independence, depending on which side of the ideological or cultural spectrum they are located.
We, along with a delegation from the British High Commission, assembled outside DU vice-chancellor’s residence, facing the road to Flagstaff Tower. It was a hot May morning, like the one that troubled Jim Corbett when he hunted down the Mohan man-eater. But we endured it as we were hunting for history.
In 1857, the rebel troops started killing Christians, both white and brown, once they were in the city. Europeans who managed to escape flocked towards Flagstaff Tower—our first stop.
One just has to peek inside to imagine how in this rat hole of sorts, scores of people— many of them women and children—huddled together in the searing heat, waiting for help to arrive from Meerut.
We turned left from the Flagstaff Tower into Bonta Park. A little ahead, we arrived at a 19th-century guard house, one of the two that still exist and which would have had an Indian picket when the Revolt began—Delhi was garrisoned by the 38th, 54th and 74th Bengal Native Infantry regiments.
By early June, however, the British reinforcements came and a counterattack began. Flagstaff Tower had a rebel battery by then, which rained down fire and hell on the approaching Anglo-Indian troops. “Despite the bitter animosity that existed then between the British and the rebels, the British officers were appreciative of the gunnery of the rebels. Indian guns were serviced very well, and the English noted that an Indian gunner would rather die defending his gun than give it up,” Chhina said.
Some English officers also heaped praise on the rebels for orderly retreat under fire and took pride in training the men well.
The Tower was taken and it became the left flank of the British position on the Ridge; the centre of the position became the Mosque Picket, our next halt. It’s actually the Chauburja Masjid or the four-domed mosque built by Sultan Ferozeshah Tughlaq in the 14th century. Chhina showed us how it appeared to European photographer Felice Beato in 1858 while we tried to capture the mosque from the same angle as Beato did. Only one dome exists now—a sorry testament to the conservation story of modern India.
Next we went to a palace of Ferozeshah Tughlaq, which is now called Pir Ghaib but may have been the Kushk-i-Jahanuma or Kushk-i-Shikar, a hunting lodge of the Delhi sultan. Even Tamerlane may have visited it. In 1857, this was the scene of bitter fighting between rebel troops and British-led troops. The baoli right next to it is a wonder in itself with flights of stairs on all sides. English troops back in 1857 reported seeing a step well with several leafy trees near Hindu Rao’s house. Only the stumps of some of those trees remain today.
Hindu Rao’s house was the next halt. In June 1857, it was held by the Sirmoor battalion of the Gurkhas (later 2nd Gurkha Rifles, Indian Army and now Royal Gurkha Rifles, British Army), supported by Queen Victoria’s Own Corps of Guides (now split as 2 Frontier Force and Guides Cavalry, Pakistan Army) and other British units.
On September 14, the British stormed Delhi with their full might. The Siege of Delhi ended amid mind-numbing carnage. “Passions were excited on both sides. And it was Delhi that suffered.” Chhina said.
As one contemporary observer noted, Delhi became a “ghost city” with abandoned homes and bloated corpses lying all over.
Our final stop was the Mutiny Memorial on the Ridge, now called Ajitgarh or Fatehgarh. Today, it’s a nationalised memorial to both Indians and the English killed during the Siege of Delhi.
“Something must be done to make these places more familiar to tourists. And these must be preserved,” said Lieutenant Colonel Simon de Labilliere, the military adviser at the high commission.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Delhi News / by Manimugdha S Sharma / TNN / May 12th, 2017
Lastng legacyTeen Murti memorial in New Delhi, The Second Lancers WW-I memorial in the cityVV Krishnan, KVS GiriV_V_Krishnan
A relook at the legacy of the Teen Murti Memorial in Delhi which has a Hyderabad connect
The Teen Murti Memorial in New Delhi is set to be renamed again. What was Imperial Cavalry Brigade Memorial and became Teen Murti Memorial after Independence, is to be renamed Teen Murti Haifa Chowk timed with the first ever visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Israel. The tinkering with the name of a war memorial will not change the glorious memory and the gallantry of Indian soldiers.
Hyderabad House is a well known landmark in New Delhi and is a venue for the reception of foreign dignitaries. The Teen Murti memorial’s link to Hyderabad is less well known. But as the roundabout with three lancers wearing pugrees and khaki shorts grabs the nation’s attention due to yet another renaming row, it is time to remember the legacy of the memorial and its Hyderabad connect.
Just outside the Jamali Kunta darwaza of Golconda in Hyderabad is the area known as Second Lancers. Dotted with low squat houses painted white — some with extensions and some in the same state they were constructed — it has a few houses that still bear the names of the original allotees. While most of the men with Jamadar, Dafadar honorofics are no longer alive, the houses currently occupied by their children and grandchildren still carry their nameplates. These were some of the soldiers who saw action in France and later in Egypt and what was Palestine. The lancers from Hyderabad were the first to sail and were part of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade along with lancers drawn from Jodhpur and Mysore princely states. The Teen Murti celebrates the bravery of soldiers from these three princely states.
To call them brave would be an understatement. The great war’s first mechanised weapon was the machine gun that shot out hundreds of bullets in an arc. The lancers from Hyderabad and the other princely states armed with just lances and light weapons were no match for the rat-rat-rat of the machine gun that mowed down anything that moved. But these men stood up, fought and won. One of the most impressive victory was at Haifa on September 23, 1918 and for this the residents of the city still celebrate Haifa Day organised by Indian embassy.
It was not easy to rouse Hyderabad soldiers to fight someone else’s war after crossing the sea. Before the war, the Nizam Osman Ali Khan had to issue a firman informing his soldiers that it is okay for them to fight against fellow Muslims of the Ottoman empire. The port city of Haifa was the key entrepot for the Allied war machine. Years later, the British withdrew from the city leaving the Jews and Arabs to fight it out. The Jews, using a three-pronged attack, captured the city on April 24 in 1948 as the Arabs left their ancient homeland.
Interestingly, while the Teen Murti memorial is in the news, the actual war memorial built for the soldiers who fought for the British in the first World War remains neglected and unseen amidst bushes and brambles in the cantonment area near Second Lancers area in Hyderabad.
Memorable designs
Teen Murti House in New Delhi was designed by Edwin Lutyens, while the Teen Murti Memorial was designed by Leonard Jennings. The one accessible war memorial in Hyderabad, the EME War Memorial in Secunderabad,was designed by Eric Marrett.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Metroplus / by Serish Nanisetti / May 08th, 2017
When was the last time you blew a balloon? Probably, when you were a child?
But, for 22-year-old N Sadham Hussain, son of a flower seller from Podanur, inflating balloons is the route to fame.
This engineering graduate has been in the news ever since he blew 500 balloons in a matter of 68 minutes at an event held in the city.
Hussain attempted a record in three categories- most balloons blown in a minute, most balloons blown in three minutes and the fastest time to blow 500 balloons. At the recent event, he managed to inflate 11 balloons in a minute, 29 balloons in 3 minutes and 500 balloons in 68 minutes.
“It all started in 2011 when I started doing a part-time job in balloon decorations. I was in charge of blowing balloons for birthday parties and private events. Later, I came forward to blow balloons at a symposium held at my college. (Dr NGP Institute of Technology) The pace at which I was blowing the balloons impressed a friend of mine, who later suggested that I could put the skill to good use.
That’s when I decided to give the records a shot.
Since then there has been no looking back. I blew 486 balloons in an hour at an event and that was considered a record. It’s been two years I completed my studies but I continue my passion for blowing balloons.”
Sadham now accompanies his brother in installing smart boards in schools. He already has his name etched in the Limca Book of World Records for blowing 486 balloons in one hour and 1,000 balloons in 147 minutes.
So, does he practice blowing balloons on a regular basis? “Not really! Since, I continue my job in balloon decorations and I get the opportunity to practice regularly. The only ritual I have been following from day one is to keep a glass of water and glucose next to me. You lose a lot of moisture when blowing a balloon and it’s imperative that you don’t feel tired while at it. You need a lot of stamina as well.”
However, he adds that blowing balloons is not a cakewalk while attempting a record. “The balloons diameter should be 20 cm after blowing it; you have to tie it up. Many a time I have burst a number of balloons during the process. I get extremely nervous then and lose out on time.
But, I carry on with the attempt as I have to finish inflating the maximum number of balloons at a particular time.”
The electrical engineering graduate aspires to set a world record in blowing balloons. “I want to set a world record and I am working hard towards it,” says Sadham, who is still hunting for a job that will help fulfill his dream.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Coimbatore News / by P. Sangeetha / TNN / April 30th, 2017
India had won seven medals in the first leg on April 24 and six (1 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze) in the second leg.
Muhammed Anas got over the disappointment of missing out on the first two legs of the Asian Grand Prix and won the 400m gold in the third leg here on Sunday with an impressive 45.69s, just 0.19s off the World Championships qualifying time.
This was the national record holder’s first race of the season after he and M.R. Poovamma were denied visas by China for the Asian GP’s two earlier legs in Jinhua and Jiaxing.
“I missed the qualification time narrowly but it will come soon,” the 22-year-old, whose national record of 45.40s in Poland last year earned him a Rio Olympics slot, told The Hindu over phone.
Om Prakash Karhana, also a National record holder, won the shot put gold with a 19.58m.
Jinson Johnson and Asian champion Tintu Luka were both beaten at the tape and had to settle for silver in the men’s and women’s 800m.
Dutee Chand in the 100m and National record holder in shot-put Manpreet Kaur were the others to win silver medals. Dutee’s 11.52s was her season’s best.
Neeraj Chopra, the under-20 World champion who qualified for the World Championships with an 82.32m at the second leg in Jiaxing three days ago, took the men’s javelin bronze while Asian Games bronze medallist Poovamma picked up the women’s 400m bronze in 53.11s.
